Decision Report 201900843

Summary

Ms C complained about the care and treatment provided to her husband (Mr A) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital when he attended A&E with a headache, nausea, resolved left sided weakness and a facial droop. Mr A underwent medical review and scanning and was admitted into hospital. The following morning Mr A's condition appeared to deteriorate and following a further scan he was found to have had a type of stroke.

We took advice from a consultant in acute medicine, and a consultant radiologist (a specialist in diagnosing and treating disease and injury through the use of medical imaging techniques such as x-rays and other scans). We found that the care and treatment provided to Mr A had been reasonable, with timely assessments and investigations. We did not uphold this aspect of Ms C's complaint.

Ms C also complained about the communication with Mr A's family, particularly when he deteriorated. The board had reviewed Mr A's care and acknowledged that there were failings in communication. Whilst the board had already shared the findings of their investigation widely, we made a further recommendation on this point. We upheld this aspect of Ms C's complaint.

Recommendations

What we asked the organisation to do in this case:

• Apologise to Mr A and Mrs C for the failure to communicate reasonably with Mr A's family. The apology should meet the standards set out in the SPSO guidelines on apology available at www.spso.org.uk/information-leaflets.

What we said should change to put things right in future:

• Communication with families/next of kin should be part of the response to a deteriorating patient.

We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.